[Buddha-l] Subject: the poignancy of Donald Lopez

[Franz Metcalf]

Gang,

One more reason the Buddhism practiced in the West is at an unfair  
advantage in a comparison to Christianity: It is effectively  
powerless. Nothing guarantees a religion a greater chance at living up  
to its ideals than a total or near total lack of access to power. And  
here it is Asian-American Buddhists who embody this truth best. They  
have the least power and money and social status; thus they are  
perfectly situated to follow narrow paths of Buddhism manifestly  
superior to wide and easy road of those unfortunate Christians who  
must walk the corridors of power.

Franz Metcalf